Circle in the Sky
by Shihali
Summary: Read Soujirou's diary as he journeys across Japan in search of truth.
1. July 7

This is my first fanfic, so please refrain from being too harsh in your reviews. Constructive criticism will be taken under consideration. Flames will be put out with Dynast Breath. 

Disclaimer: *closes eyes* I wish I owned Soujirou and Kenshin! *opens eyes* Nothing. Drat.   
  


**_Circle in the Sky_**

  
  


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_July 7, Meiji 11_

Has it been a month already? It seems like a year since the day Mount Hiei burned. Shishio-san is dead. Else he would have come for me already. Somehow, I don't miss him very much. He saved my life and gave me a home, and for that I will be eternally grateful. But I will never miss nine and a half years of killing. I miss Yumi-san more. Shishio-san and everyone else only cared about the Tenken. Yumi-san cared about Soujirou as well. Thinking of that day, I wonder if Himura-san and Yumi-san survived. I hope they did, although I doubt I will see either of them again. 

I'm thinking about the past too much. It's making my eyes water. Today I met a kind old lady named Kaoru-san who owns a food stall. She makes the best dango I've ever had outside of Kyoto, and she gave me an extra one for free. The name Kaoru seems familiar, but I can't place it. I think a young woman named Kaoru was the owner of the dojo where Himura-san lived. I told Kaoru-san at the food stall about my journey and mentioned heading north. I didn't mention that it seemed time to leave the Kyoto area behind and see the rest of Japan. She told me that Takayama is only a few miles northeast of here, and told me that a highway goes from there to Toyama on the north coast. I plan to go through the mountains instead. There are too many police on the highways. If they catch me, the government will kill me for sure. Now that I have a reason to live, the government wants me dead. It's strange. I haven't heard anything about the other Juppongatana, except that Anji-san got 25 years in prison. I'll have to pay him a visit if I go to Hokkaido. 

Why am I writing down all these strange thoughts? Shishio-san gave me this journal for recording information and expenses, not my thoughts. Thinking of expenses, I still have about a hundred yen from the cache buried on the east side of Mount Hiei. I wonder if the government found the rest. It was all in Tokyo and Kyoto, where I shouldn't go until the police stop looking for me. They've even put up posters with my picture on them, offering 200 yen for information about me. There were some in Gifu, until I tore them down. I'll have to start looking for a job soon. I want to know how to find a job before I run out of money. The Asahi Ryokan here wanted 2 yen for just one night. Inns are so expensive!   
  


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Author's Note: I owe a lot of inspiration to all the other Soujirou stories out there, especially Half-Esper Laura's series (from which I took the idea of visiting Anji in Hokkaido) and Karen's _Fire and Rain_ (from which I took the wanted posters). By my calculations, July 7 is the day Kenshin gets up and Chou visits the Shirobeko to tell about the fates of the Juppongatana, exactly one month since the battle with Shishio. In the manga, three nights' stay at the Aoiya would cost 7 yen 50 sen, so 2 yen for one night's stay seems reasonable. (Taking 1 yen = $50 is a good rough guide. Yes, I know that the CPI says $17.93 in 2002 dollars is $1 in 1878 dollars, but wages were much lower then.)   
Please forgive the short length! Writing isn't easy for me. More to come whenever I can write another part. I'm not making any promises. 


	2. July 16

Author's Note: Sorry about the length of this chapter, and the lack of introspection. Actually, I'm not sorry about the lack of introspection. Soujirou can't be fond of introspection himself; it cost him his self-control, his sword, and his content life.   
I'm working on the next chapter, which has much more philosophy and plot, and have come to the conclusion that Soujirou's motivations are as confusing to me as they are to him. -.- 

Thanks to my reviewers, Yami Neko-Kitsune, tocole, and Silver Nightingale! Someone is reading the garbage I put out! 

Disclaimer: The village of Sugidani, the Kashiwaya, and its owner Yamamoto are mine. Everything else belongs to someone in Japan.   
  


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_July 16, Meiji 11_

Sleeping in an inn is so much nicer than sleeping on the ground! I'm staying at the Kashiwaya in Shinshuu. The road to Shinshuu from Sugidani was much better than the mountain tracks I've been following since Takayama. This road is free of ruts and is wide enough for two wagons. Who would want to drive a wagon to this town in the middle of nowhere? There aren't any mines here, and what else is in the mountains? I didn't see any wagons or other travelers on my way into Shinshuu, so I couldn't find out. 

I've worked out a deal with Yamamoto-san, the innkeeper. If I work all of tomorrow and the morning and evening after tomorrow, I can stay and eat for free. Jobs aren't so hard to find after all. Ara, Yamamoto-san is coming. I'd better extinguish the lamp and go to bed. Tomorrow is my first job, and I can't disappoint him by being groggy in the morning. 


End file.
